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57th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. /Document 

2d Session. / 1 Nn 4fU 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



LIFE AND CHARACTER 



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(Late a Represkntativf: from Iowa) 



PLE 



DELIVERED IN THE 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATE, 



FIFTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 
Second vSession. 



WASHINGTON: 

r.OVEKNMF.NT PRINTING OEEICE. 
1903. ■**- . 



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TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Proceedings in the House c 

Address of Mr. Lacey, of Iowa o 

Editorial by M. A. Raney 12 

Address of Mr. Connor, of Iowa 16 

Address of Mr. Cousins, of Iowa lo 

Address of Mr. Hedge, of low'a 21 

Address of Mr. Smith, of Iowa 23 

Address of Mr. Thompson, of Alabama 25 

Address of Mr. Haugeu, of Iowa -o 

Address of Mr. Thomas, of Iowa 34 

Address of Mr. Calderhead, of Kansas 40 

Proceedings in the Senate 4^ 

Address of Mr. Dolliver, of Iowa 40 

Address of Mr. Burton, of Kansas 58 

Address of Mr. Allison, of low-a 60 

3 



Death of Representative Rumple, 



Proceedings in the House. 

January 31, 1903. 

Mr. Lacey. Mr. Speaker, it is my sad duty to announce the 
death of my colleague, Hon. John N. W. Rumple, who, at 4 
o'clock this morning, after a long and painful illness, was called 
to his final reward. 

Iowa has lost one of her most distinguished and pure-minded 
citizens; this House has been deprived of one of its ablest and 
worthiest members, and the veterans of the civil war have lost 
an earnest friend and comrade. 

I will not now speak further of his life and character, but at 
some future time his colleagues will ask the House to set apart 
a suitable time for the purpose of paying tribute to his 
memor}'. 

Mr. Speaker, I move the adoption of the resolutions which I 
send to the Clerk's desk. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives has learned with deep 
sorrow and regret of the death of the Hon. John N. W. Rumple, member 
of this House from the State of Iowa. 

Resolved, That a committee of members of the House, with such mem- 
bers of the Senate as may be joined, be appointed to take order concerning 
the funeral of the deceased. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate 
and transmit a copy of the same to the family of the deceased. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of the 
deceased the House do now adjourn. 

The resolutions were agreed to. 



6 Life and Character of John N. IV. Rionple. 

The Speaker pro tempore. Pending the announcement of 
the result, the Chair, with the unanimous consent of the House, 
will appoint the following committee: Mr. Hedge, of Iowa; Mr. 
Thomas, of Iowa; Mr. Haugen, of Iowa; Mr. Smith, of Iowa; 
Mr. Conner, of Iowa; Mr. Hemenway, of Indiana; Mr. Prince, 
of Illinois; Mr. Gardner, of Michigan; Mr. Aplin, of Michigan; 
Mr. Darragh, of Michigan; Mr. Payne, of New York; Mr. 
Grosvenor, of Ohio; Mr. Dalzell, of Penns^'lvania; Mr. Rich- 
ardson, of Tennessee; Mr. Adamson, of Georgia; and Mr. 
Crowley, of Illinois. 

The resolutions are agreed to; and, in accordance with the 
order previously made, the House will stand adjourned until 
to-morrow, Sunday, February i, at 12 o'clock noon. 

Accordingl}' (at 4 o'clock and 39 minutes p. m. ) the House 
adjourned until vSunday, February i, at 12 o'clock noon. 

February 10, 1903. 
eulogies ox the late representative rumple. 

Mr. lyACEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent for the 
present consideration of the resolution which I send to the 
Clerk's desk. 

The Speaker. The gentleman from Iowa asks unanimous 
consent for the present consideration of the resolution, which 
will be reported by the Clerk. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That when the House meets on Sunday, the 22d day of Feb- 
ruary, it shall consider appropriate resolutions and hear eulogies upon the 
life, public services, and character of the Hon. John N. W. Rumpi<E, 
deceased, late a member of the House of Representatives from the Second 
Congressional district of the State of Iowa. 

The Speaker. Is there objection? 
There was no objection. 
The resolution was agreed to. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES, 

FeBRL-ARY 22, 1903. 

The House met at 12 o'clock in., and was called to order bj- 
Mr. Moody, as Speaker pro tempore. 

The Chaplain of the House, Rev. Henry X. Couden, D. D., 
offered the following prayer: 

Eternal, ever-living Cxod, our Heavenly Father, we bless 
Thee for that spirit of patriotism and profound gratitude which 
moves the people throughout our nation to meet in commemo- 
ration of the birth of him whom we delight to call the Father 
of our Country. We thank thee for that mentality which 
enabled him to grasp and .solve great problems: for that divina- 
tion which enabled him to penetrate the future and predict 
results; for that personality which enabled him to command 
men; for the fervor of his religious nature which enabled him 
to rely upon Thee for strength and support, and which brought 
him to his knees at Valley Forge, the darkest hour in that 
struggle for liberty, right, and justice, where he received con- 
solation and light. Long may his memory live in the hearts 
of his countrymen, and longer yet his deeds in.spire men to 
truer, nobler life. 

We meet here to-day in .special service to commemorate the 
lives and characters of men who have wrought upon the floor 
of this House and made con.spicuous their names in history. 
We bless Thee for them and for what they did. Let the light 
which came down, from Heaven in the person of Thy Son fill 
the hearts of the bereaved, that they may .see beyond the veil 
that larger life in the mansions above. Through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. 

7 



8 Life and Character of John jV. JJ\ Rnmple. 

Mr. lyACEY. Mr. Speaker, I offer the following resolutions: 
The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That the House now proceed to pay tribute to the meniory 
of Hon. John N. W. Rumple, late a Representative in the House from 
the State of Iowa. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the vSenate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk be, and is hereby, instructed to send a copy 
of these resolutions to tlie family of the deceased. 

The Speaker pro tempore. The question is on agreeing to 
the resoltitions. 

The question was taken, and the resolutions were unani- 
mously agreed to. 



Address of Mr. Lacey, of Iowa. 



Address of Mr. Lacey, of Iowa. 

Mr. Speaker: Capt. John N. W. Rumple, whose life and 
services we commemorate to-day, was one of the men who has 
shed luster on the State of his birth and the State of his adop- 
tion. Born in Ohio, he moved West in 1S53, and his manhood 
has been identified with the history of Iowa. 

I have known him for thirt}' 3'ears, having first met him 
when he was a member of the Iowa senate. Captain Rumple 
was born near Fostoria, Ohio, March 4, 1841, on a farm. He 
died at St. Luke's Hospital, Chicago, 111., January 31, 1903. 
His father died in 1844. 

In 1853 the family emigrated to Iowa, settling in Iowa 
County upon a farm. Mr. Rumple was educated in the dis- 
trict .school, in Ashland Academy, in Wapello County, Iowa; 
al.so in Western College, Liun County. He also took a cour.se 
in the normal department of the State University. In acquir- 
ing his education he alternated between teaching .school and 
attending the academy and college. On August 14, 1861, he 
enlisted as a private in Company H, Second Iowa Cavalry. 
He was promoted corporal, .sergeant, lieutenant, and captain. 
He was discharged vSeptember 19, 1865, at Selma, Ala. He 
served with his gallant regiment in all of its campaigns, except- 
ing from March 5, 1865, to Augu.st 31, 1865, when he was 
aid-de-camp on the staff of Brig. Gen. Edward Hatch. 

In December, 1865, he began the stud}- of law in the office 
of Hon. H. M. Martin, of Marengo, Iowa, with whom he 
afterwards became a partner. He was elected senator from his 
di-strict in the adjourned .ses.sion of the fourteenth general 



lo Life and Character of John N. W. Rumple. 

assembly to fill a vacancy. He was also a senator in the 
fifteenth and sixteenth general assemblies. He served on the 
board of regents of the Iowa State University, also as mayor 
and city solicitor to his town, Marengo, and as curator of the 
State Historical Society. In 1900 he was elected as a member 
of Congress from the Second district of Iowa, receiving 23,202 
votes again.st 21,737 for his opponent, Hon. Henry Vollmer. 
Captain Rumple was for many years a member of the ^Masonic 
fraternity and the Grand Army of the Republic and a member 
of the Presbyterian Church. He was married December 6, 
1866, to Miss Adaline K. Whitling. His wife dying, he con- 
tracted a second marriage with Miss Mar}- H. Shepard. Such 
is the brief outline of his life and public service. He was 
admitted to the bar in 1867, and though always active in 
public affairs, continued to practice with ability and success in 
his chosen profession. He has been long a prominent figure 
in the affairs of Iowa, and his friends at any time within the 
past thirty years have spoken of him as one who would some 
day be called to a .seat in the Congress of the United vStates. 

Many local circum.stances delayed the fulfillment of this 
prophecy, until finally, in his sixtieth year, he was elected as a 
Republican in a district that had, from its organization, been 
normally and usually Democratic. 

But when thus honored by his friends, and in the fulfillment 
of a worthy ambition, he had taken his place in this honorable 
body, the insidious hand of a fatal disease was laid upon him. 

His ship was wrecked in port, and he had only attained 
the reward of his well-deserved promotion when the sunniions 
came to prepare for that change which must come to all the 
living. 

In the closing hours of this Congress we have been called 
manv times to the realization that all men are mortal. Sixteen 



Address of Afr. Lacey, of lozva. 



1 1 



of our colleagues have solved the great problem that confronts 
us all. 

It is therefore well that we should pause for an hour to think 
upon the life and example of this good and worthy man. 

He left a good name, which is worth more than riches. A 
man's public career is only the surface of his life. The depths 
beneath are sounded only by his nearest friends. 

One of his townsmen, in a recent letter to me, expressed his 
feelings in a few but earnest words: 

All his neighbors believed in him, all trusted him, and our faith and 
confidence in him were never betrayed. And, best of all, we loved him. 

The domestic life of our friend was a beautiful example to 
all who knew him well, and no man was ever more sincerely 
mourned by liis neighbors. It is hard to part with these old 
friends. 

We lose a life in every friend we lose, 
And every death is painful but the last. 

Mr. RuMPLR was loyal to his country and to his friends, and 
there was a charm in his personality that held to him for life 
those who once became acquainted with him. 

The old soldiers of the nation had reason to be pleased when 
they learned that Speaker Henderson had assigned Captain 
RUMPI.E to the arduous task of serving upon the Invalid Pen- 
sions Committee of the Hotise, for no comrade in arms or 
soldier's widow ever failed to secure his patient and friendly 
consideration. 

Though apparently in the full ^-igor of a ripe manhood 
and giving promise of many years of usefulness to his country 
he had only thoroughly settled down to the hard work of his 
Congressional duty when the summons came to put his house 
in order for that change which must come to all living men 
We may with bated breath whisper to each other, "Who 



12 Life and Character of John N. W. Rumple. 

will be next?" And we know that we will not wait long for 
the answer. 

Mr. Speaker, I also desire to print with my remarks an 
editorial by M. A. Raney, in the Republican, of Marengo, 
Iowa, whose estimate of Captain Rumple as a neighbor, a 
citizen, and a statesman is well worth}' of a place in this day's 
proceedings. 

HON. J. N. W. RUMPLE. 

When Captain Rumple appeared on the streets of his home town for 
the last time in life, it was to exercise his privilege as an American citizen, 
and in the exercise of that franchise he performed the duty quietly but 
resolutely and as he fully believed to be right. Without ostentation, but 
as a citizen, he passed along the streets to the voting place, with a nod to 
one, a smile for another, a hand grasp and a refulgent friendliness for all 
that could be felt in its warmth, and then he returned to renew the dreary 
days of torture — a suffering that was not only severe and pain racking 
physically, but ached and throbbed in ever}- nerve and tissue and almost 
drove to mental distraction. That its heritage was known to him there 
could be no doubt, a loving and idolized mother having succumbed to the 
same dread affliction. Yet throughout it all he never acknowledged, 
never weakened in his faith, never surrendered, but went down as he had 
fought, with a brave courage and heroic determination to win, but a ter- 
rible disease had fastened itself upon him and the fight between life and 
death continued unrelentless. The fading embers would from time to 
time be fanned into life's fitful flame, only to disclose at each recurring 
event, at least to his friends, the increasing weakness of his body. Ever 
patient and enduring, he suffered, he endured, but never complained. 
Trusting and hoping, although fully prepared for possible results and 
with every contingency arranged for, he lived on and on. In all the 
vicissitudes and battles of life even to the last he was brave as a hero, but 
tender as a girl. His sense of right was great and beautiful; he loved 
justice, truth, and honor. His sympathies were easily and deeply touched 
by others' .sorrows, and he was unselfish to a fault. From the depth of 
his heart he hated oppression, and his love went out like sweet showers 
to all his fellow-men. 

At home and in Iowa County he lived in the hearts of his people as one 
whose steadfast firmness was proof against all changes and disaster. His 
career was not an accident; it was not the result of circumstances or chance. 
It had its origin in a strong, noble nature; its source was easily found in a 
great heart and head constantly working in harmony with pure methods 
for high purposes. His intellect was comprehensive, original, and con- 
templative. The every thought that came from it was broad, liberal, and 



Address of Mr. Lacey, of lozva. \ 3 

exalted and of uniform character. Nothing eccentric, meteoric, or explo- 
sive emanated from that harmonious laboratory. Nothing was too grand 
or too vast for the grasp of his intelligence, nothing too minute or too 
trifling for his attention. His thought ever clear and discerning, his 
reason was bright and strong as steel. No clouds or mists, vapors or 
shadows, hovered over the straight lines of his march to conclusions. His 
arguments were constructed, doubtless, from le.s.sons learned in militarv 
life. They were organizations strong, compact, without unnecessary orna- 
ment, always aggressive and dashing, and directly to the weak point for 
assault. He defended his flanks and rear by the vigor, boldness, and per- 
sistence of his charges. No saber was ever wielded more deftly on the 
field of battle than by him in the clean cut of the same weapon' in aro-u- 
ment. In debate he was happy, always able, well tempered, and candid, 
but perfectly fearless and just. He never inflicted a cowardlv, cruel, or 
insidious wound, and left no rankling arrows in the memorv of his 
opponents. 

Possessed of a strong and graceful figure, an open, engaging counte- 
nance, an ambitious heart, he had that passion for enterprise and adven- 
ture which has ever been the quickening pulse of the pioneer. From 
plow to saber, from saber to school, from school to law book, then came 
the one additional step of hanging out his shingle as a poor and briefless 
barrister in Iowa County, where he had been raised, and almost in sight 
of the old Ohio Church, in Sumner Township, where his first Sundav- 
school lessons were well taught. Truly he was a man of the people, 
sprung from them, uplifted by them, and in all things true to them. In 
difl[icult situations he was no rash actor. Natural impetuosity was curbed 
by will and saving common sense. Thus he became a safe, wise adviser. 
Many there are who equaled or surpassed him in some one of many things, 
but few could do so many things so well, and rarer still are they who 
accomplished so much under such conditions as he dealt with. Youno- 
as measured by his years, yet old in experience and public service, he was 
stricken down in the prime of his manhood and usefulness as the sturdv 
oak is felled by the power of the mighty tempest. 

At the time of success he was called away from a life full of promise to 
himself, and overflowing with fond hopes and realization for those who 
were nearest and dearest to him, and loved him with purest devotion. 
The loyal constituency of the Second district, to whose best interests he 
was wedded and tried so hard, although so terribly beset, to serve, are 
proud of his record as a statesman, but his friends dwell largest and with 
most pleasure upon the recollections had of him in his private life as an 
associate and companion. In closer sympathy and touch with the home 
citizens, understanding them better, and being by them fully understood 
and trusted, loved and respected, the loss is on every side felt to be a per- 
sonal one, without regard to political affiliation and through all w^alks of 
life. Through the town and over the county the sad tidings of his death 



14 Life and Character of John N. W. Rumple. 

have gone, and all onr people are in mourning. The heart swells in every 
bosom, and unbidden tears come to the eye as the citizen remembers the 
last warm grasp of the hand now forever stilled. 

A truer or more earnest and sincere man never lived. He was a politi- 
cian, yet a statesman of the highest order. Kind-hearted and generous 
almost to a fault, yet always open to conviction, he was the same man at 
all times, amidst all surroundings, and under all circumstances. Whether 
as an orphan boy and a laborer in the vineyard of daily toil to support his 
widowed mother and family, as a youthful soldier half starved and poorly 
clad, fighting for the right, as a young lawyer striving for success, as a 
representative of the people in the Iowa senate and in Congress, hewing 
out a way and blazing a road to prominence, and dealing blows in behalf 
of lighter burdens for the people, he has always been found true, honest, 
sincere, manly, and courageous. He was ever a companion, but always a 
man. His legal equipment was complete — learned in the intricacies of the 
law and parliamentary procedure, he maintained even in his brief career 
the high standing and well-deserved distinction he so ably won in his first 
Congressional term. 

He will be mourned by all, but most by those who wore the bronze but- 
tons and addressed him as comrade, for there his work was never done, 
the door never closed, the pocket never empty as he once said in eulogizing 
a comrade: "Of all the emotions awakened by death none is more touch- 
ing than those called up b}' the death of a comrade. They bring the bat- 
tlefield again before you. The same sulphurous canopy is before you. 
The hum of the bullet, the whiz of the round shot, the shriek of the shell, 
the clash of sabers, and the shouts of the combatants again fill your ears. 
The tiresome march, the weary wading of streams, the ruddy camp fire, 
the bubbling coffee, and the rude fare appear. You hear again old annv 
songs and stories, and are lulled to sleep by the piping of frogs, the music 
of crickets and katydids, or b}- the soft patter of the rain upon ^-our shel- 
ter tent. Again you are upon picket, nnisket in hand, watchful and wary, 
on the muddy shore of the Rappahannock or beneath the soughing pines 
of the Wilderness. When a comrade dies, life itself seems to turn back- 
ward. You live once more in the stormy scenes of thirty years ago." 

His nature was susceptible of great enjoyment; he loved outdoor 
recreation and was extremely fond of fishing, one of his greatest pleasures 
being a summer trip to the northern Iowa lakes, where in all its beauty, 
and free from office cares, he could enjoy with his friends the green 
fields, wild flowers, the beautiful harvest fields, and endless hours of 
fishing, the enjoyable features of a good catch being an event of many 
days' pleasant memories with him. 

His mortal career has ended and his life work is done; the page is 
written and his friends sorrow, but with it comes the reflection that his 
was a work well performed. It might have been longer, but not greater. 
In a measure his ambition was accomplished, and, with the drapery of 



Address of Mr. Lacey, of lozva. 15 

his couch about him, he laid down to rest. To the bereaved family it can 
be said that his love and fidelity to his fellow-man, exemplified in his 
public acts, will stand as a legacy greater than riches and more valuable 
than length of days. 

Mr. L,ACEY. Mr. Speaker, I a.sk unanimous consent, in this 
connection, for general leave to print, as there are .some 
members of this House who have been unable to be present 
who desire to be accorded this privilege. 

The Speaker pro tempore. The gentleman from Iowa asks 
unanimous consent for general leave to print. Is there 
objection? [After a patise.] The Chair hears none. 



1 6 Life and Character of John N. W. Rumple. 



Address of Mr. Conner, of Iowa, 

Mr. Speaker: If human effort could arrest the messenger 
of death, our friends would never die. We exhaust every 
means within our power to stay the hand of the destroyer, 
but all in vain. We confess our helplessness to .save by coming 
at a time like this to express our sorrow at the loss of a col- 
league and friend and to pay a fitting tribute to his memory. 
We may strew flowers upon his grave and utter words of 
praise and commendation of his noble life and deeds, but can 
not call him back to earth again. 

When a good man dies not only his family and friends 
suffer loss, but his country as well. The wealth of a nation 
does not con.si.st alone in its property and natural resources, 
but also in the character and nobilitv of its citizens. Its 
strength and stability do not depend so much upon its armies 
and navies as upon the honor, virtue, and intelligence of its 
citizens. In the death of Mr. Rumple his family and friends 
suffer an irreparable loss. His death means more to them 
than a vacant chair — more than the absence of a familiar face 
and form. It means that husband and father, a tower of 
strength for loved ones to lean upon, is removed. His pros- 
trate form will never rise again. The kindly eye that drew 
men unto him has been closed for all time. The lips that 
whispered love and encouragement are .sealed forever. The 
ear that never failed to hear the oxy of distress is deaf for- 
ever more. The voice, rich and musical in tone, will never be 
heard again on earth. The heart whose every pulsation was 
for tho.se he loved will never throb again. Time and reflec- 
tion will but emphasize the loss which his loved ones have 



Address of Mr. Conner, of Iowa. 17 

sustained. But in a broader sense he will be missed. The 
community in which he lived and also his State and nation 
will miss him. He was a factor in the affairs of his city, 
county, State, and nation. 

He was essentialh* a self-made man. He was born and reared 
upon the farm. When a mere child his father departed this 
life. The death of his father forced upon him responsibilities 
which otherwise would not have come. He moved with his 
mother from Ohio to his adopted State — the State of Iowa — 
when still a child, though older than the State to which he 
moved. In the sparsely settled section of the State where he 
located there were few chances for education and improvement. 
He took advantage of opportunities afforded him and attended 
first the district school and then the college. It was during 
this latter experience in the early .sixties that he heard the call 
to arms to .save the Union from di.ssolution. He enlisted before 
he had attained his majority, and during the four years and 
more that he was in the service he made for himself a brilliant 
record. He rose from the ranks to the position of captain. It 
is .said that he was engaged in more than thirty battles during 
the rebellion. He earned for himself an enviable reputation 
for brave and courageous conduct. 

He came home from the w^ar when it was over not spoiled by 
his laurels and immediately set about to complete his education 
and to take up his work where he had left it when he enlisted. 
He studied law, was admitted to the bar, entered upon the 
practice of his profession, and became an honored member of it. 
His ability was soon recognized, and he was called to serve his 
State. He was repeatedly elected to the office of State senator, 
and was a safe and conservative legislator. He filled other 
positions of trust and responsibility. 

During all these years he was preparing himself for higher 
H. Doc. 464 2 



1 8 Life and Character of John N. U . Rumple. 

responsibilities, and the time came when the people of his 
Congressional district said he was the right man to send to 
Congress. Public opinion centered upon him, and he was 
nominated and triumphantly elected to the Fift3'-seventh 
Congress. I have no doubt that if his health had permitted 
he would have remained in Congress for an indefinite time, 
because his services and abilities were such that his constitu- 
ents would have been proud to have kept him here. But the 
disease that had fastened itself upon him made such progress 
that he was compelled to say to the people of his district that 
he could not accept the nomination to the Fift3'-eighth 
Congress. 

It is not within our power to utter words that can bring 
comfort to a stricken wife at a time like this. We can but 
point to the splendid career of her husband, to his record as a 
citizen, soldier, and statesman. 

We can say to her that while he has passed from sight he 
still lives in memory, and that the influence of his life will 
continue a vital force in making the world better and adding 
something to its happiness. 

There is no death! The stars go down 

To rise upon some fairer shore; 
And bright in heaven's jeweled crown 

To shine forever more. 



Address of Mr. Cousins, of Iowa. 19 



.ADDRESS OF Mr. Cousins, of Iowa, 

Mr. Speaker: It seems as though death delights in viola- 
ting and in breaking the conventional terms and periods 
established by governments and men. If John N. W. Rumple 
had lived until one week from Thursday next, he would have 
been exactly 62 j-ears of age. But the most dreadful of all 
diseases would not grant a truce even for a single month. 

Birth, which sometimes .seems agreeable to the institutions 
and establishments of mankind, had brought into our needy 
world this noble soul exacth' 60 3'ears before his Congressional 
term began, March 4, 1901. If I mistake not, his was the 
sixteenth removal by death from the Fifty-seventh Congress, 
the greatest mortality rate in the last decade of Congresses, 
and, for aught I know, in the liLstory of Congre.sse.s — about 
3^ per cent. 

But fractions in mortality amount to little, except to 
actuaries, since all must die eventually. We are concerned 
not so much about the days and ^-ears, but about the character 
and loss of this useful man. 

lyike hundreds of our citizens of Iowa, he came from the 
Buckej'e State — -a tran.splanting which was alwa^-s sympa- 
thetic. Like the majority of our 3'oung men, he sought a 
thorough education at our institutions, and like thousands of 
others, when the awful storm arose, ' ' wrenching the rafters 
from their ancient hold," he went forth in battle for the 
nation and stayed until the .scattered stars of States were 
brought again into the constellation of the Union. He earned 
the rank of captain in the famous Second Cavalry of Iowa in 
such battles as Island No. 10, siege of Corinth and Rienzi, 



20 Life and Character of John N. IV. Runiplc. 

charges at Farmington, luka, Corinth, Frankhn, Columbia, 
and Nashville, and many others. 

Like most good soldiers, he became a model citizen. The 
jar of war usually awakens reason and mollifies the prejudice 
of men. Whoever has experienced great danger, either to his 
country or to himself, naturally becomes a coun.selor for safety 
and a conservator of peace. He is likewise firm in the face 
of fraud and blu.ster, for he knows the limitations of those who 
have not felt hardship and who have not faced death. 

Like hundreds and thousands of others who came out of the 
awful .storm of the early sixties, Captain Rumple became a 
useful and influential factor in his community and State. His 
tendencies were with mankind in the long run. He builded 
for the future without swerving to sensation or sacrificing his 
convictions. He became prominent at the bar and in the 
legislation of our State, likewise as a regent of our university 
and in the State Historical Society, meanwhile gi^■i^g his good 
counsel in matters of municipal and educational affairs at 
home. He .served with honor and fidelity in the Fift^'-seventh 
Congress nearly to its end, which we are now approaching. 

Just in the prime of life, when maturity, sharpened and well 
tempered by experience, with all the joys and .sorrows of a 
vigorous career, with conflict and with hardship, with love and 
labor and success, that .sable figure of the night which flits but 
once across the path of man, and alwa3^s once, far out along 
his straight and noble path, unma.sked and unrelenting, .stood 
plainly there before him. As .stead}- and unfalteringh- as ever 
warrior went to meet a foe, as humbly and resignedh' as a 
good man ever met his God, this .soldier citizen, this friend, 
this man, went on. 



Address of Mr. Hedge, of Iowa. 21 



Address of Mr, Hedge, of Iowa, 

Mr. Speaker: It seems to me prop.er that on this birthday' 
of Washington we should contemplate the career and character 
of the men, strong, high-minded men, who, in these late days, 
have constituted the State, the country, of which we call him 
father. From what has already been said, it is plain that our 
late companion was one of those to whom it was given to move 
in and to illustrate the heroic age of America. As we read 
between the lines of his brief biography we see that he was a 
high example of the iVmerican soldier. His life afterwards 
showed that this soldier boy, this Captain Rumple, felt that 
as his obligation to his country did not have its source or its 
beginning in his oath of service, so it did not have its end 
or fulfillment in his parchment discharge. As has just been 
said, as a citizen he perceived his duty through all these forty 
years of manifold labors and trusts confided in him b}^ his 
neighbors, and always performed that duty without parade 
and without reserve. 

I first met him casually when he was a member of our vState 
senate, a man already enjo3'ing the confidence and esteem of all 
the people of his State. Afterwards he removed to the town 
in which I lived, and practiced law and made himself known at 
once as a high-minded lawyer, industrious, faithful to the inter- 
ests of his clients, faithful to the cause of justice, fair and 
square, and, therefore, with his intelligence and his indu.stry, 
a dangerous antagonist. We have not time, nor is it necessary, 
to go over the different stages of this good life. We know that 
his people at home, through all these years, from his boyhood 
to his mature age, believed in him, trusted him, and loved him. 



22 Life and Character of John N'. IV. Ritniple. 

I saw him last in July, last suinnier, when he must have 
known, as the rest of us knew, that the sentence of death had 
been passed upon him. Serenely, bravely, and cheerfully he 
passed through these months of trial, these hours of agony, 
concealing the trouble within him, the mainstay and support of 
his family and friends until the very end. He is gone. We 
shall have no more the comfort of his personal presence or of 
his kindly ways; but the memory and example of that gentle 
life, of that high service, of that pure character shall be a 
precious possession and inspiring influence to all who knew 
him, as long as human affection and human memory shall 
endure. 



Address of Mr. Smith, of Iowa, 23 



Address of Mr. Smith, of Iowa, 

Mr. Speaker: On his last journey through the Common- 
wealth of Iowa, in which President McKinley gave forth any 
public utterance, he said that " duty disregarded brings shame 
more hard to bear than any burden that duty can put upon us." 
That Congressman Rumpee was a man of patriotism and of 
courage is evidenced by the history of his country, which 
records more than four years of service in the Union Arm}-, in 
which, without the aid of influence other than his own fidelity, 
he fought his wa}- up from a private to a captain in one of the 
most gallant regiments enlisted in the civil war. That he was 
a man and a lawyer of ability is evidenced by the fact that he 
stood at the head of the bar of his locality for more than thirty 
years, where he had no mean antagonists to meet. 

That he was a man of simple piety is evidenced by the long 
service he rendered to the humble church at his home and by 
the life he led, consistent with that service. That he was a 
good neighbor and a good man is evidenced by the general and 
profound sorrow that was everywhere displayed in the home 
where he had lived so long over the news of his death. That 
he was a kind and loving husband and father is attested by 
the profound grief displa3-ed by the wife and daughter he was 
compelled to leave behind. 

The overshadowing characteristic of Captain Rumpee was 
his fidelity to duty. Nearly a year ago, when the malady 
which caused his death first made its appearance, many of his 
most devoted friends pleaded with him to abandon the dis- 
charge of his duties here, that he might receive proper treat- 
ment, and perchance preserve his .strength and his life for the 



24 Life and Character of John N. IV. Ritrnple. 

discharge of duties yet to come. But he insisted that certain 
duties rested upon him here, which he must discharge before 
he could leave this city for that treatment which should have 
been prompth' given if it was to avail at all. He remained, 
and remained too long. The malad}' became so fastened upon 
him that medical skill could do nothing for him ; and he then 
calmly and courageously met death, in the supreme faith that 
He who cooled the furnace and smoothed the .stormy wave and 
tamed the Chaldean lions is mighty .still to save. 

At the birth of our religion, when the faithful looked for the 
early second coming of our L,ord, men were content to believe 
in a resurrection deferred until that coming; but the lapse of 
twenty centuries has not been without its effect upon the faith 
and the belief of devout men everywhere. And many now 
believe, as I believe, that the very hour of death is the morning 
of the resurrection, and that this dear old friend has already 
received that reward which is due to duty well performed. 



Address of Mr. Thompson, of Alabama. 25 



Address of Mr. Thompson, of Alabama. 

Mr. Speaker: We have assembled here to-day to pay a last 
loving tribute to the memory of our departed friend and fellow- 
member, John N. W. Rumple, who has passed over the' dark 
river and now rests under the trees on the other side. 

Did I say a ' ' last ' ' tribute .^ It may be our last official and 
formal tribute, but it will not be the last time that our hearts 
throb with grief or our memories kindle with kindly emotions 
within us at the thought or mention of his name. 

We gather here with uncovered heads and sad hearts as we 
reflect how short a time has elapsed since he sat among us in 
this Hall, but that to-day he is with the unnumbered hosts 
who have gone on to their reward. 

Though young in Congressional experience, Mr. Rumple 
had already given ample proof of statesmanlike abihty and 
promise of a long and useful legislative career. He was still 
in the prime of life, and when we see such a man stricken 
down suddenly at the outset of an honorable and valuable 
service in the national councils, we can only bow before the 
unknowable in deep humility of spirit and acknowledge that 
the best, the bravest, and the strongest of us are but as chaff 
before the whirlwind. " God works in a mysterious way His 
wonders to perform," and while we can not now understand 
the decrees of His divine providence, we must believe that 
"He doeth all things well." 

My acquaintance with Mr. Rumple began only with the 
beginning of the present Congress, but even in that short time 
it soon ripened into warm friendship. My experience in this 
respect was that of many others among us. Mr. Rumple's 



26 Life and Cliaractcr of John N. W. Rianple. 

character and disposition were such that he naturally attracted 
to himself the love and confidence of his fellow-men. He was 
one of that sterling type of men, alas, all too rare, who are true 
as steel and of brilliant capabilities, but yet modest and unas- 
suming and void of self-conceit and self-seeking. The record 
of his life bespeaks his character. We see him, as a boy, striv- 
ing diligently to get an education, yet leaving his university 
at the call of dut}^ and entering the Union Army as a private 
soldier, and no man in all that mighty host did his full duty 
more nobl3^ His name is not inscribed high up on the roll of 
famous generals or admirals, but he was one of the bravest and 
most efficient of those hundreds of thousands of ' ' boys in blue ' ' 
who reall}' fought and won the battles for the North, and with- 
out whom the famous generals would have had no fame to win. 
He served all through the dreadful four years of the civil war, 
fought in more than thirty battles, including Corinth, luka, 
New Madrid, Island No. lo, Farmington, Tupelo, Columbia, 
Franklin, and Nashville, and was mustered out at the end of 
the war with the rank of captain, which he had richly won by 
his long, devoted, and gallant service in the field. 

After the surrender, Captain Rumple was stationed for a 
while at Selma, Ala., with Grierson's Raiders, and he always 
seemed to enjo}' telling me his reminiscences and experiences in 
the South. He spoke in the highest terms of the people of the 
South, and evidently entertained the warmest regard and kind- 
liest feeling for the old ex-Confederate soldiers whom he had 
so often faced in deadly combat. He was one of the members 
of the House whom I invited to go South with me on the trip 
of last May for the purpose of studying the negro question, 
and he was sorely disappointed because circumstances pre- 
vented him from joining the party. Notwithstanding the fact 
that he had waged constant warfare against the Confederate 



.-iddress of Mr. Thovipson. of Alabama. 27 

army for four years, and had been exposed to the fire of that 
army in more than thirty battles, he respected the South and 
had become a good friend of the South, and, Hke the true 
patriot and broad-minded citizen that he was, he had laid aside 
all hostile sectional feeling. 

After the war we see ^Ir. Rumple settling down at once into 
the ranks of useful, industrious private citizens. He resumed 
his interrupted studies, adopted the legal profession, and by 
sheer force of merit and industry worked his way up into a 
good practice and a good standing in his community. Though 
seeking no honors or preferments, many came to him unsought. 
He was often elected to the Iowa State senate and had held 
many municipal offices, including the mayoralty in his own 
city: and at last he was chosen by his di.strict to represent it 
at the nation's capital. 

Is it not true, Mr. Speaker, that such a career as this is the 
neare-st in accord with the ideally successful life? It does not 
include the gaining of a Rothschild's wealth or a Napoleon's 
renown, but it does include the gaining of the esteem and 
preference of a whole community; it does include the winning 
of the love and re:,pect of all acquaintances; it does include the 
record of having braved death for the sake of the general 
welfare, and of having done the State much valuable .service; 
and a man with such a record must be deemed trul\- great as 
well as good. But now, alas I 

He is gone who seemed so great, 

Gone; but nothing can bereave him 

Of the force he made his own 

Being here, and we believe him 

Something far advanced in state. 

And that he wears a truer crown 

Than any wreath that man can weave him. 

The affection which Mr. Rumple inspired was his by natural 
right, for he was gentle and friendly in spirit and made friends 



28 Life a)id Character of John jV. JV. Rumple. 

easily and naturally. As we all know, he was highly esteemed 
by his colleagues from his own State, and was regarded by 
them as a man of excellent judgment. He fully justified here 
the confidence which his constituents had placed in him, for he 
looked closely after the interests of the people whom he repre- 
sented and watched with jealous care every commission intrusted 
to him. 

Mr. Rumple had for some time suffered from a malady 
which he seemed to recognize as incurable, but he bore this 
affliction with marked fortitude and patience. He was a 
devoted husband and father. In his death the members of his 
family have suffered an irreparable lo.ss. I myself have lost a 
friend whose friendship I cherished, and the great State of 
Iowa has been deprived of the services of one of her best citi- 
zens and ablest Representatives. 

How true it is, Mr. Speaker, that if one wishes to find out 
what kind of a man a man is one must find out what his family, 
his friends, and his acquaintances think of him. A good man 
may have a few enemies through their spite or envy, but a bad 
man, or a \Veak man, or a cold, selfish man can not have the 
love and esteem of a w^hole community in general. And as I 
pay this heartfelt tribute to the memory of this good man and 
dear friend I mourn his loss as a personal grief, and I sympa- 
thize deeply with those wdio loved him as husband, father, and 
neighbor. 

Surely, "in the midst of life we are in death;" and since the 

o-rim monster has visited our body so frequently during this 

Congress, we are forcibly reminded that — 

Death's but a path that must be trod, 
If man would ever pass to God. 

Yes, sixteen of our number have been called to answer the 

summons of death; and while we can not but be .saddened by 



Address of Mr. Thompson, of Alabama. 29 

these frequent and inscrutable dispensations of God's provi- 
dence, we bow in humble submission to His divine will, believ- 
ing that He " loveth whom He chasteneth." 

In bidding a last, long farewell to Mr. Rumpi^e we perform a 
labor of love and take formal notice of a life well spent for the 
good of his fellow-men and for the honor and glorj- of his 
country. As a friend, he was sincere; as an associate, pleasant, 
generous, and affable; as a worker, serious, diligent, and 
devoted to duty. He was truly a representative of the people 
and labored unceasingly for their interests. May we strive to 
emulate the noble traits of his character and to perpetuate the 
good deeds which he delighted in doing for his fellow-men. 
Thus may it prove to us all, as it surely has to him, that 
"death is the crown of life," and that "the King of Terrors is 
the Prince of Peace. ' ' Thus may we all be enabled to realize 
in the fullness of time that — 

There is no death ! 
What seems so is transition. 
This life of mortal breath 
Is but a suburb of the life elysian, 
Whose portal we call death. 



30 Life and Character of John N. W. Rumple. 



Address of Mr, Haugen, of Iowa, 

]\Ir. Speaker: On this sad occasion it is fitting that I should 
offer a few observations on the life and character of my beloved 
and greatly admired colleague, Captain Rumple. It was my 
privilege and pleasure to know him for a number of years, 
and to know him more intimately during his short stay here 
in Washington, where our duties brought us in frequent and 
friendly contact. 

I believe I voice the sentiment of every member of this 
House, as well as the sentiment of his constituents and all 
who knew him, when I say that he was a man of unusually 
high character, sterling qualities, loving disposition, eminently 
sociable, pleasant, courteous, obliging, talented, endowed with 
lofty ideals and purposes, with untiring energy, alwa\-s con- 
scientious, attentive to his duties, loyal to his friends, and 
with a firm determination to do justice to all. 

I have observed closely his faithful and efficient work here 
in this House and the committees, especially the Committee on 
Invalid Pensions, a committee which all of us have occasion to 
visit probably more than any other. The appointment of Cap- 
tain RuMPLD to this important committee was in itself a tribute 
to his worth and was indeed a \tise selection. In him the old 
soldiers had a faithful and warm friend. In this committee he 
labored diligently early and late with his colleagues; as I am 
informed, they many times worked into the early hours of 
morning. The interests of the old soldiers and the Government 
were carefully and judiciously guarded. His unceasing efforts 
were to have pensions granted on their merits; his pride was to 



Address of Mr. Haugcn, of Iowa. 31 

legislate so as to maintain the pension roll as a roll of honor. 
He himself had given four years and three months of the best 
years of his life in the service of his country. He was one of 
those who cro.ssed that fearful wilderness of war, fighting for 
the preservation of the Union and that peace, happiness, and 
libert}- might prevail; one of those many men \^'ho so cheer- 
fully responded to the call when the destiny of this country 
was trembling in the balance, inspired by the noble and glorious 
idea that liberty should be universal. He was thus in a posi- 
tion to appreciate the heroic deeds of those gallant men who 
brought so much fame to America, as well as the noble sacri- 
fices which have been made. 

Believing as he did in a just recognition of the services of 
our soldiers and sailors, he earnestly labored to secure liberal 
pensions and pension laws for the worthy and disabled sur- 
vivors, and for their widows and orphans, and for the dispen- 
sation of pensions — volunteer offering.s — which this great, 
grand, and grateful country- of ours bestows upon those who 
have rendered valuable service and who have made sacrifices, 
and for a just recognition of the spirit of patriotism with 
which they served — a testimony and appreciation of the value 
of their eminent services, rendered their country during dark 
and direful hours. 

He was a man who loved and fought for lil^erty and to the 
bottom of his heart hated oppression and bondage; a noble 
specimen of manhood, beloved, admired, and commanding the 
respect of all who knew him; one kindly and lovingly dis- 
posed; one w^ho always worked earnestly and faithfully to 
fulfill the duties incumbent upon him, and one who so 
honorably and gloriously succeeded. 

Modestly and unassumingly he went along, quietl}- attend- 
ing to his public duties, wasting no time in trying to make 



32 Life and Character of John N. W. Rumple. 

himself conspicuous. He was a man of action more than 
words; not an orator, though a forcible, logical, and con- 
vincing speaker. Instead of trying to rise above the people 
he, as our greatest statesmen have done, remained on the 
common level. 

From boyhood his life w^s pure and stainless, rising from the 
humble walks of life to a high position socially, politically, and 
professionally. Such results could have been attained only by 
fidelity to duty and unfaltering faith in rectitude of purpose 
dominated by the loftiest and noblest ideals. It was impossible 
to know this talented man without observing his noble and 
loving disposition — knowing him, it was impossible not to 
become attached to him, to love him and be inspired with the 
fullest confidence and respect for his noble characteristics. 

He was a man of integrity, sound judgment, wise, broad 
minded, lil^eral, and exalted. A truer, more energetic, earnest, 
and sincere man never lived. 

His character, his success, his record, both private and public, 
is an open book without a stain of immorality, deception, fraud, 
or corruption. His loyalty to principle, his devotion to truth, 
his untiring energy, his lofty and noble ideals, and conscien- 
tious work enabled him to attain and hold the position which 
he occupied in the thoughts, esteem, and affections of his 
countrymen, enjoying and deserving the confidence and respect 
of all, and always pursuing his duty with fidelity and a deter- 
mination to do justice, and ever a firm believer and advocate 
of sincerity, honesty, integrit}-, justice, equality, con.scientious 
dealings, purity of heart, thought, and action. 

In his Christian home he was a devoted and kind husband, 
an affectionate father, a friendly and obliging neighbor. In 
Captain Rumple we find a ver}- interesting and remarkable 
career. Born in Ohio in 1841, settling in his early manhood 



Address of Mr. Hang en of Iowa. 33 

in Iowa on a farm, pluckily, energetically, and vigorously pur- 
suing his education; next we see him a teacher; a soldier in 
the Union Army, always true, loyal, and brave, where he saw 
much service and engaged in many battles; an eminent la\\'\'er, 
for many years serving in the legislative halls of his own 
State, where he distinguished himself as a statesman and 
trusted ser\-ant of the people. His next honor was his elec- 
tion to Congress, where we can all testify to his ability and 
fidelity. 

In his short career here he acquired a large circle of devoted 
friends and admirers. His death causes sincere and profound 
regret to all. He died in the full maturity of his mental 
vigor. Truly it can be said that his life was well spent and 
full of good deeds. He died at a time when his life, character, 
his example, sound judgment, and wisdom were of the greatest 
value to his country. 

In him we have an example of the self-made man to the 
fullest extent of its meaning. And what a splendid example; 
what an incentive to all. If one is to succeed in life, either 
public or private, it mu.st be by fidelity to duty, cherishing noble 
and lofty ideals, with an unfaltering faith in rectitude of pur- 
pose, with a firm determination to do right and justice; and our 
guiding star should ever be sincerity, honesty, integrity, justice, 
equality, con.scientious dealings, purity of heart, thought, and 
action, denouncing and shunning deceit and conceit. 
H. Doc. 464 3 



34 -^?/^ ^^^^ Character of John N. IV. Rumple. 



ADDRESS OF MR. THOMAS, OF lOWA. 

Mr. Speaker: I rise for the purpose of joining with my 
associates of the House in paying tribute to the hfe and 
character of our friend, Captain Rumple, of Iowa, who has 
recently been called awa}- from our midst. 

Captain Rumple belonged to that earnest, quiet, and unos- 
tentatious class of men who move along among their fellows 
performing the duties that devolve upon them in a modest and 
unassuming manner, almost unobserved hy these with whom 
they associate. He was not one of those who was ever exploit- 
ing his own importance or boasting his accomplishments, as do 
some we meet with in the course of everyday life. He was a 
quiet man, yet he never undertook anything in a weak- hearted 
manner. With him there w'as a sensitive cord drawing the 
line between right and wrong, and, always led onward by a 
motive to do right, his actions in the present were directed 
by a steadfast hope in the future. There are those, and I 
think that Captain Rumple may well be said to have been 
one of them, who are never disturbed by the pa.st, except as 
it may serve to furnish lessons for the future — who perform 
the duties of the day as they come along, molding them for 
•the future. 

It is laot that cla.ss of men that attracts the notice and 
receives the plaudits of the passers-by in immediate approba- 
tion of their exploits, to be forgotten when the procession has 
passed; but when their sturdy and earnest life is rounded up 
we see their influence impres.sed upon the things with which 
they were brought in close relation. It is this character of 
men that make the world better and happier for their having 
lived in it. 



Address of Mr. T/iomas, of lozva. 35 

Mr. Rumple was born and reared on the farm, receiving 
such advantages in the wa}- of education, while on the farm, 
as could be given to farmers' boys generally who possess the 
intelligence, energy, and grit to make proper application of the 
opportunities that arise from poverty and from breathing the 
healthful atmosphere and engaging in the invigorating exercises 
of farm life. His boyhood surroundings were modest and 
frugal, biit they taught him those lessons of honest}-, economy, 
integrit}', and industry that characterized his entire course 
during his after life. It is from this class, surrounded b}' such 
influences, that have arisen the men and women who have left 
their impress upon our institutions. 

It is from this class, and surrounded b}- like influences, that 
have come those who have made our nation famous in the 
fields of statesmanship, finance, literature, and art. The 
wholesome influences that surround farm life give to the 
farmer's boy life and soul, inspired with energy and courage, 
to go out into the world and successfully engage with the 
forces that lie in the road to success. Nowhere is that free- 
dom of thought and freedom of action as clearh' displayed to 
the 5'oung mind as on the farm, where every ripple of the 
stream, every song of the bird, every sighing of the breeze, 
every lowing of the herd, is an inspiration to the young mind 
and an incentive to good citizenship and love of country. A 
gentle spirit, a pure heart, and active mind, fanned and fed by 
an invigorating atmosphere, grow and expand in the full 
development of man and in the broadening of an exalted man- 
hood. These were the influences that surrounded Captain 
Rumple during his boyhood days and as he grew into the .state 
of manhood. These were the influences that inspired him with 
a love of home and home life, and at the same time filled his 
soul with a patriotic love of country. 



36 Life and Character of John N. W. Ruwple. 

The firing on Fort Sumter was not only the signal of 
secession. It was, in a more significant sense, the liberation 
of Northern thought. It at once concentrated the minds of 
the people on the fact that we have an American Union, and 
that, as emblematical of that Union, an American flag, 
and that the Union had been attacked and its emblem torn 
down. The thought of the American people both North and 
South had been centered on the question of slavery, but as the 
reverberation of the discharge of the first gun was heard, the 
fact that the paramount question now before the American 
people was not slavery in itself, but the American Union, 
dawned upon the people and filled their minds with alarm. 
Imbued with this idea and impressed with the importance to 
mankind of maintaining the Union unbroken and unimpaired, 
the young men of the country, with patriotic fervor, responded 
to the nation's call for troops. 

Mr. Rumple enlisted in the Army for the Union, and 
remained in the service for more than four years, and was 
among the last of that great Army to be nuistered out after 
the close of the war. For valiant and faithful service he was 
promoted from his position of enlistment as a private, through 
the several gradations of office, to that of captain, which 
position he held at the time of his discharge. His was not a 
service of ease or idleness. He was under General Grant at 
Vicksburg and under Thomas at Franklin and Nashville, 
Tenn., and whether on the march to Jackson, Mi.ss., and at 
the capture of that place, or in the several battles on the 
countermarch, or in the trenches around A'icksburg, oi 
whether engaged in the battles of Franklin and Nashville, 
or in pursuit of General Hood, he always manifested that 
deliberate courage and unshrinking fidelity to duty that 
formed the guiding star to his whole life. 



Address of Mr. Thomas, of lozc^a. 37 

He was not led to enlist in the Army through any hope of 
ease or comfort nor from any thought of military preferment,, 
but solely out of a sense of duty under the inspiration of patri- 
otism and love of country. While he spent more than four 
3-ears in the service, it was not because that service had any 
attractions congenial to his nature, but because he felt it a duty 
as an American citizen to maintain the integrity of the Union 
and to protect the honor of the American flag. 

When the Union was restored, the Army discharged, and his 
military labors ended, he again returned to civil life, took up 
the study of law, was admitted to practice, and became promi- 
nent as one of the principal lawyers of the State of his adoption. 
Afterwards he was elected to the legislature of the vState of 
Iowa, of which he became a distinguished member, and finally 
closing his career as a Representative in the Fifty-seventh 
Congress. 

One thing may always be said of Captain Rumple — that a 
sense of duty was his guiding star through his entire life. 
Wherever that pointed he was found. Whether on the farm as 
a boy. when growing into manhood; whether in the public 
schools or college; whether in the Army, in camp, or on the 
march, or on the field of battle; whether in the court room or 
in the legislative chamber, or whether in social relations with 
his family or friends, he was ever found actuated by the same 
motive. 

There is no place, perhaps, where true character is more 
accurately reflected than in the home. The close relationship 
in the family circle is very sure in time to develop character in 
its true light and in its proper relations. With Captain Rumple 
the home, with its influences and the comforts that it afl"orded, 
was the place of his delights, and here he enjoyed the 
companionship of his friends with a generous cordiality. 



38 Life and Character of John N. W. Rumple. 

With the last session of Congress Mr. Rumple was com- 
pelled to close his public career. Before the close of the 
session he felt that grim disease coming on that finally took 
him away. But he did not lose hope or courage. We saw 
him here attending to his official duties, looking after the 
interests of his constituents, attending to those matters that 
are required of a faithful member of this House, long after he 
began to feel that a prudent regard for his physical condition 
demanded that he cease his labors here and seek medical 
treatment for the disease that had begun to make its appear- 
ance and was beginning to undermine his vitality and en- 
danger life itself. When this consideration was pressing upon 
him, I heard him on several occasions express a purpose and 
desire to get away to receive medical treatment: but this was 
always coupled with the idea, as expressed by him, that he 
still had this to do and that to look after before he felt war- 
ranted to leave his duties here. And so matters went on until 
nearh' the close of the session l^efore he left here and went 
to the hospital at Indianapolis, where he was soon made 
acquainted with the malignant character of the disease whose 
fangs had pierced his very life. 

Now, for the first time, he realized in its full sense the 
seriousness of his condition, and supported b}' the consciousness 
of a pure and upright course of living and buoyed up b}' the 
hopes of achievements to be accomplished in the future, he 
took up the contest for life, while death seemed apparent, most 
manfuU}" and with devout Christian courage. But courage 
must sometimes yield, 'and when that yielding is manifested in 
a loving, Chri.stian faith it is the mere transition from courage 
to resignation; and the spirit that can yield gracefully to the 
inevitable when the time comes will reflect its light and 
influence to be witnessed b}' those who follow after. 



Address of Mr. Thomas, of Iowa. 39 

It soon became apparent that the disease with which Mr. 
Rumple was afflicted was of a mahgnant type, and that it was 
daily penetrating deeper and deeper and fastening its fangs 
upon the Hfe that remained. With a consciousness of the 
approaching end he awaited its coming with a Christian forti- 
tude only to be sustained by the hope of immortality and a 
faith in an ever-living God. His was a noble life, filled with 
deeds of love and charity and kindness, and as it went out 
loving friendship followed with earnest prayer. 

I feel constrained to believe that in some cases, even where 
the whole course of life is filled with love and kindness, the 
sublimity of character is more vividly reflected in sickness and 
death and in the scenes that attend them, without murmur and 
without complaint, than in life itself. That patient endurance, 
with the consciousness ever present that the end of all that 
pertains to this world is fast approaching, without the hope of 
rehef except in death, portrays a character of sublime beauty. 

The life of everyone, whether it may be drawn on right 
lines or wrong, when it goes out leaves its impress and influ- 
ence somewhere. Some heart is touched and some cord made 
to thrill by it. The influence of that life does not always stop 
with the grave, but it goes on and enters into the lives of those 
that are to come. This thought is found portrayed in the life 
of Captain Ru:hple. He embodied in his everyday life the 
sentiment expressed so beautifully in the lines of the poet: 

So live that when thy summons comes to join 
The innumerable caravan which moves 
To that mysterious realm, where each shall take 
His chamber in the silent halls of death, 
Thou go not, like the quarry slave at night, 
• Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed 
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave 
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
About him and lies down to plea.sant dreams. 



40 Life and Character of John N. W. Rumple. 



ADDRESS OF Mr. CALDERHEAD, OF KANSAS. 

Mr. Speaker: I shall not attempt on this occasion any eulogy 
of our deceased friend or attempt any analy.sis of his Hfe and 
character. I come only as a comrade of my comrade, to brino- 
one more tribute to his memory. 

I never knew liim until I met him first in this Congress as 
a member of the Committee on Invalid Pensions. The few 
months' service we had together on that committee revealed his 
personal character to me by reason of our daily contact in the 
consideration of the same questions. Kinship of service in the 
same cause was supplemented by kinship of faith in the same 
Saviour and the same hope of eternal life. He endeared him- 
self to me by his unfailing kindness and gentleness. I never 
heard a petulant word from him or a word of complaint con- 
cerning the arduous duties to which he was called or the per-, 
plexing questions that were presented to him. 

I never heard any complaint from him concerning the things 
that sometimes have offended us all — the procedure and rules 
of the House. I have heard him occasionally say, with 
reference to some important measure, " I desired to speak, but 
somehow or other the duties of my committee do not leave me 
time for the preparation which I feel is due." And then he 
would go back to his committee room to resume the wcrk to 
which he had been assigned. I knew nothing about his home 
life. It so happened that in our intercourse there had not 
been occasion to speak of it except in an incidental way. Yet 
every time it was mentioned by him it revealed the tenderness 
of the associations that were there. I did not know the 
people from whom he came or amongst whom he had spent his 



Address of Mr. Calderhead, of Kansas. 41 

life; and it was not until after his death that I knew enougn of 
his personal history to even say more about him than his 
record in the Congressional Directory showed. 

But the inquiry made since discloses a life with the charac- 
teristics of the sons of liberty in liberty's land. Born on a 
farm, he was fatherless at the age of 11. At 13 driving a 
team and moving his widowed mother and her little children 
from the center of Ohio to a new home in the State of Iowa. 
That was nearly fift}^ years ago. We can picture to ourselves 
the long journey and the sturdy character that was daily 
growing in the life of the boy. At 16 a pupil in the district 
school of his community; at 18 a teacher in the same school; 
at 20 years and 4 months enlisting as a private soldier in one 
of the first regiments organized in his State, and going out to 
the battlefield to contend about questions of life and death for 
the nation into which he had been born. The generation that 
did that is but a remnant now. As one after another the 
comrades fall from our side we drop our tribute, our sprig of 
evergreen, into the grave, an emblem of the immortalitv in 
w^hich we hope; and then we side step to the right and the 
left, closing on the center, each step bringing us a little nearer 
to the flag and to the .standard of life by which we live and by 
which the nation bears onward its life. 

Four years of service for a boy like that! He came out a 
captain at the age of 24. I will not stop to repeat the great 
military history which was written during that time. The 
v-ery names of the battlefields which have been enumerated 
before you testify to the character of it all ; and immediately, 
without seeking honor at the hands of the nation he had 
helped to save, he turned himself to the duties of life. We 
next find him as a student of law. Then, after the usual 
time, he was admitted a member of the bar and immediatelv 



42 Life and Character of John N. IV. Rumple. 

began the practice of his profession. The rest of his Hfe was 
spent in the community- where he was a schoolboy and where 
he was a law student. His neighbors testified to their appre- 
ciation of him as a man b}' electing him to Congress. Yet he 
did not appear at any time conscious of bearing honor. Cer- 
tainly he was always unconscious that he was seeking honor. 
So delicate is that rare flower that ' ' he who seeks it shall 
never find it, and he who finds it needs no name." He has 
gone before. 

I miss the kindly light of his eye, the gentle touch of his 
hand, and the cheerful voice. Somehow I can not feel the 
sense of grief which is commonly expressed concerning the 
loss of a man or a friend. I feel the sense of vSeparation, and 
yet I feel conscious that somewhere on the other shore such 
a man is looking back at the record of a life in which there 
may have been mistakes that even his fellow-men have for- 
gotten, looking back upon the record of a life in which the 
highest moti\-e was to endeavor to do his dut>' as it was laid 
upon him. Trained from childhood in that stern old faith 
that has given Christian civilization so many men of clear 
intellect and generous, warm hearts, his character had in it 
the repose which comes from reliance upon ' ' the impregnable 
rock of the Scriptures." The logic of the .shorter catechism 
decided for him the fundamental elements of ju.stice and of 
right. There were never two sides to a question before him. 
It was always, What is right? 

Returning to this House after my absence during vacation, 
I passed through the city of Chicago and arrived here the 
day of his death. I did not know that he was then languishing 
in a hospital in that city, or else I should have stopped and 
gone again to stand beside him as he went down to the portals 
that mark the end of life. He endeared himself to me, and it 



Address of Mr. Caldcrhead, of Kajisas. 43 

was with more than a feehng of mere comradeship; it was with 
that fraternal feehng which sometimes ties our Hves together 
without our knowing why or how. Since I knew that this 
day had been set aside for addresses in his memory, I wrote to 
one of his friends at his home, asking a question pertaining to 
him. In reply I received the following answer, which I will 
read as worthy of a place in the Record: 

Marengo, Iowa, February iS, 190J. 
Hon. W. A. Calderhead, ]M. C, 

IVas/iiiig'ton, J). C. 

Dear Sir: Your favor of the 15th instant received this morning, too 
late, I fear, to get to you the papers I mail to your address to-day by Fri- 
day. The papers referred to contain Mr. RumpeE'S record quite fully. 

It was my privilege to office with him six years, having desk room with 
him. A warm friendship grew out of this close association, one for the 
other. He would have reached his sixt3'-second j-ear had he lived until 
March 4. My acquaintance with him covered twenty-five years. I was 
with him at the Cedar Rapids Congressional convention twenty years ago, 
when he made his first effort to gain a nomination for Congress, where 
Hon. James Wilson, now Secretary of Agriculture, won out by one major- 
ity over him. No citizen of this city or of the State ever left a cleaner or 
more honorable record than Rumple. He loved to live, and made a gal- 
lant fight for life. His friendships were many and close, and he had the 
reputation of standing 103'ally by his friends. 

While he lived plainly and was temperate in all things, he accumulated 
but little. He was most liberal in his dealings, always a contributor to all 
good and worthy objects. He often said to me that he might be more 
properly designated as a compromiser of difficulties between men than an 
attorney. By and through his disposition and habit of settling litigation 
outside of court he missed manj- a fat fee. I was a witness to many such 
settlements in his office. But when he once landed a case in court he was 
one of the hardest fighters during these years among the members of the 
bar of this part of the State. 

He was an active member of the Presbyterian Church; for years leader 
of the choir. 

He was married twice, a daughter by his first wife, a widow for several 
j-ears, making her home with him. A son by his second wife died about 
twenty-five years ago. He had a ver}- plea.sant and comfortable little 
home, onh- recently built. 

INIr. RuMPEE was never active in his own behalf for political advance- 
ment. It was the spontaneous and zealous work of his friends which 



44 IAf<^ ^^^(i Character of John A\ W. Ruu/p/e. 

made his advancement possible. In the last campaign for Congress no 
movement was ever made by him for such nomination. Every move, 
from start to finish, was made without his knowledge or consent by his 
friends in Iowa County, reenforced by friends in every county iii the 
district. 

The people's faith and confidence in his honesty and sincerity of pur- 
pose was fixed and substantial. His friendship was not limited to any 
particular cla,ss, but he was as easily approached by the most humble and 
unfortunate citizen as those occupying opposite positions in business or 
society. John Rumpi^e was everybody's friend, is about the simplest 
form of stating it. 

With my kindest personal regards, I am, very truly, yours, 

D. M. ROWI^AND. 

A.S we mea.sure the lives of ottr colleagues who have passed 
on from us we do more than pay tribute to them. We lay 
upon ourselves binding obligations to the highest performance 
of duty; and the life and example and friendship of my com- 
rade binds me to further efforts, that I may in some way yet 
meet his approval and meet the approval of the Great Master. 



Proceedings in the Senate. 

P'ebruary 2, 1903. 

MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE. 

The message also communicated to the Senate the inteUigence 
of the death of Hon. John N. W. Rumple, late a Representa- 
tive from the State of Iowa, and transmitted the resolutions of 
the House thereon. 

The mes.sage further announced that the Speaker of the 
House had appointed Mr. Hedge, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Haugen, 
Mr. Smith, and Mr. Conner, of Iowa; Mr. Hemenway, of In- 
diana; Mr. Prince, of Illinois: Mr. Gardner, of Michigan; Mr. 
Aplin, of Michigan; Mr. Darragh, of Michigan; Mr. Payne, of 
New York; Mr. Grosvenor, of Ohio; Mr. Dalzell, of Penn.syl- 
vania; Mr. Richardson, of Tennessee; Mr. Adamson, of Geor- 
gia, and Mr. Crowley, of Illinois, members of the committee 
on the part of the House. 

death of the late representative rumple. 

Mr. DoLLiVER. Mr. President, I ask the Chair to lay before 
the Senate the resolutions of the House of Representatives in 
relation to the death of the Hon. John N. W. Rumple, late 
a Representative from the State of Iowa. 

The President pro tempore. The Chair lays before the 
Senate the resolutions indicated by the Senator from Iowa, 

which will be read. 

45 



46 Life and Character of John N. W. Rumple. 

The Secretary read the resokitions, as follows: 

In the House of Representatives, /c!';?//rt'rrj7, /90J. 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives has learned with deep 
sorrow and regret of the death of the Hon. John N. W. Rumpi,e, member 
of this House from the vState of Iowa. 

Resolved, That a committee of members of the House, with such mem- 
bers of the Senate as may be joined, be appointed to take orders concern- 
ing the funeral of the deceased. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate 
and transmit a copy of the same to the family of the deceased. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the niemor}' of the de- 
ceased, the House do now adjourn. 

Mr. DoLLiVER. Mr. President, at a subsequent day I will 
ask the Senate to set aside a time when the colleagues and 
friends of the late Captain RumpIvE may pay appropriate 
respect to his memory. For the present I offer the resolu- 
tions which I send to the desk. 

The President pro tempore. The resolutions submitted by 
the Senator from Iowa will be read. 

The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep sensibility the announce 
ment of the death of Hon. John N. W. Rumpi^e, late a Representative 
from the State of Iowa. 

Resolved, That as an additional mark of respect to the memory of the 
deceased, the Senate do now adjourn 

The President pro tempore. The question is on agreeing 
to the resolutions submitted by the Senator from Iowa. 

The resolutions were unanimously agreed to; and, in accord- 
ance with the second resolution (at 4 o'clock and 30 minutes 
p. m.), the Senate adjourned until to-morrow, Tuesda}-, 
February 3, 1903, at 12 o'clock meridian. 



Proceedings in the Senate. ' 47 

February 23, 1903, 

message from the house. 

The message also communicated to the vSenate resohitioiis 
passed by the House commemorative of the life and services of 
Hon. John N. W. Rumple, late a Representative from the 
State of Iowa. 

February 25, 1903. 

MEMORIAL ADDRESSES ON THE LATE REPRESENTATIVE 
RUMPLE. 

Mr. DoLLiVER. I desire to give notice that on Saturday 
next, at a convenient hour to the Senate, I shall call up the 
resolutions of the House of Representatives on the death of the 
late Representative John N. W. Rumple, of Iowa. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES. 

March i, 1903. 

Mr. DoLLiVKR. I ask the Chair to lay before the Senate the 
resolutions of the House of Representatives in relation to the 
death of the late Representative Rumple. 

The President pro tempore. The Chair lays before the 
Senate the resolutions of the House of Representatives, which 
will be read. 

The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 

In the House of Representatives, 

February 22, igoj. 
Resolved, That the House now proceed to pay tribute to the niemor}- 
of Hon. John N. W. Rumple, late a Representative in the House from 
the State of Iowa. 

Resolved, That the Clerk con.iniunicate these resolutions to the Senate. 
Resolved, That the Clerk be, and is hereby, instructed to send a copy 
of these resolutions to the family of the deceased. 

Mr. DoLLiVER. Mr. President, I submit the resolutions 
which I send to the desk. 

The President pro tempore. The Senator from Iowa offers 
resolittions, which will be read. 

The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow the an- 
nouncement of the death of Hon. John N. W. Rumpee, late a Representa- 
tive from the vState of Iowa. 

Resolved, That the business of the Senate be now suspended, in order 
that fitting tribute be paid to his memory. 

Resolved, That as an additional mark of respect, the Senate, at the 
conclusion of these ceremonies, do adjourn. 
48 



Address of Mr. Dollivcr, of Iowa. 49 



ADDRESS OF Mr, DOLLIVER, OF lOWA. 

Mr. President: In view of the pressure of business in these 
closing hours of a Congress unusually occupied with important 
questions, I am sure that the Senate has acted with propriety 
in appointing this hour in which to consider the public seTvices 
of John X. W. Rumple, late a Representative in Congress, 
whose death has been so sincerely mourned by his colleagues 
and friends here and by the people of Iowa at home. 

There is an almost tragic significance in the frequency with 
which the shadow of death has fallen upon the membership of 
the present Congress. So often has the present House of 
Representatives been called upon to take notice of the death of 
a member and to set apart a time for memorial exercises that 
a departure, at once thoughtful and beautiful, has been made 
from the customs of the past in the selection of the Sabbath 
day for those tributes of respect and affection which are never 
amias when men honored and famous in the public service fall 
at their post of duty. 

I am glad we have the quiet and peace of the Sabbath in 
which fittingly to commemorate the character and career of the 
men out of respect for whose memory these solemn services 
have been arranged. I had been requested by the distin- 
guished Senator from Oregon [Mr. Mitchell] to speak a few 
words in affectionate remembrance of his colleague, the Hon. 
Thomas H. Tongue, who suddenly passed away in this city, 
after a long and distinguished service in the House of Repre- 
sentatives. But before the date arrived in which the memorial 
could be held the hand of death had fallen upon my own 
colleague, and the mournful duty was laid upon me to p'-o- 
nounce a eulogy here upon one who was not only my personal 
H. Doc. 464 4 



50 Life and CJiaradcr of John N. ]\\ Rumple. 

friend and associate, but ver}- close to the hearts of the Iowa 
constitiieiicj^ which had given him a commission to act for it in 
the House of Representatives. 

And while his career was cut short before he had completed 
his first term of service, few men in our vState had gained a 
firmer hold upon the good will of the people or more thoroughh^ 
deserved their confidence than Captain Rumpi^e. 

His death came with a sense of personal loss to all who have 
served with him here, and throughout the Connnon wealth of 
Iowa his name is spoken with love and gratitude. He was in a 
high sense a representative of that people — he stood for the 
State in everything that brings a man into harmony and 
partnership with the comniunit}' in which he lives. His life 
had in it all those elements which give symmetry and dignity to 
human character. There is in his biography just that succes- 
sion of tasks well done, that series of modest achievements, that 
constant progress from strength to strength, which make up a 
record of usefulness while men live and of affectionate remem- 
brance when they are gone. 

The life of such a man is in itself a refutation of every 
morbid school of social philosophy which seeks to overturn the 
institutions of society in order to make life worth living and 
manly effort worth making. 

Captain Rumple died an honored member of that great 
popular as.sembl3^ to which under our institutions the most 
important interests of the Government are in a peculiar sense 
committed. He did not live long enough to secure there the 
position which his talents and his character would have brought 
to him if his life had been spared. He had the exact qualifica- 
tions wdiicli under the training and discipline of long service 
would have given him a conspicuous rank among the leaders of 
the House. He had that poise and eciuililjrium of faculties. 



Address of Mr. DoHivcr, of lozca. 51 

that fine combination of good-fellowship and good sense, \vhich 
needed only time and experience to be molded into the highest 
type of leadership. 

PVom a long acquaintance with him I may safely say that he 
had little ambition for the honors of political life. At any rate 
there was entirely lacking in his disposition any of that feverish 
anxiety for the power and distinction of office which so many 
times turns the arena of our politics into a scramble for place 
and for spoils. He was selected as the candidate of his party 
in a district where a nomination is by no meams equivalent to 
an election and at a time when the chances of election were by 
no means certain, because of his peculiar hold upon the people 
among whom he lived and on account of those personal charac- 
teristics which made him specially available for the contest 
which was before his party. 

While he was a strong partisan, never doubtful in his alle- 
giance, there was in him a breadth of culture and a depth of 
conviction which always enabled him to accord to others full 
credit for integrity of purpose and to hold the differences of 
partisan opinions in an atmosphere of neighborly kindness and 
good will. 

He had a long training in the humbler and less ostentatious 
affairs of life before he was called to the discharge of the more 
important duties which belong to citizenship. He was born 
on a farm in Seneca County, Ohio, on the 4th of March, 1841. 
A somewhat careful study of the biography of those who have 
done most to shape the development of our institutions has led 
me to the conclusion that the American farm home has had 
more to do with the nurture of those who have made their 
mark either in public or private life than any other one thing, 
and possibly than all other things put together. There is a 
uniformity, a pleasing monotony, in the biography of great 



52 IJfc and Character of John N. IV. Rumple. 

men the world over, which has led at least one famous philos- 
opher of our day, Count Tolstoi, to recognize among the laws 
of nature Avhich express themselves in the progress of society 
that there is no possible strength either of mind or body or 
character that does not come up into a man out of plowed 
grou'nd through his bare feet. 

Captain Rumple was not born in any abject surroundings 
of poverty; he was born upon the average level of life where 
nearly everybody else is born; that level of life which has 
given to the world men like Lincoln and Grant and Garfield; 
that level of life which appears to be providentially adapted to 
the education of ever}' important personal factor in the building 
of the nation. 

His father died while Captain Rumple was still a child, 
and in 1853 his widowed mother, taking counsel of her children 
and relatives and friends, started out upon a long journey 
from Fostoria, Ohio, to the land of promise in the mysterious 
West, that she might make a home for her children and enable 
them to gain a fair start in life. To my mind there is in that 
little party of movers, traveling in wagons hundreds of miles 
to make their home in a new and strange land, a heroi.sm 
hardly realized now, as we read the simple and uneventful 
.story of their journey. When we reflect upon the hardships 
which attended the settlement of the frontier and put ourselves 
in touch with the brave hearts who set out on this errand of 
civilization, without complaint and without fear, it ought to 
make us ashamed of the thousand voices of weakness and 
cowardice which ha^•e filled our generation, favored by Hea\-en 
above its just de.serts, with whimperings of discontent and 
incoherent protests against the ver}' framework of go\'ernment 
and society. 

That widowed mother of six children, carrving them in a 



Address of Mr. Do/liver, of loica. 1^3 

covered wagon across the States of Ohio and Indiana and 
Ilhnois, be3-ond the Mississippi, to find a home for them, where 
by toil and sacrifice they could make their way in the world, is 
a type of a stalwart self-reliance which \\\\\ be respected among 
men long after the social reformers of more pretentious times 
ha\-e been dismissed with contempt from the intellectual life of 
the American people. 

The family had not long been in Iowa before young Rumple. 
then a lad of only 12 years, was doing a man's work in open- 
ing up a new farm, and while the burdens and labors of 
making a living were heavy enough, they were not so heavv 
as to crowd out the desire and purpose of the bo}- to get an 
education and increase the field of his opportunities. The 
State of Iowa was fortunate in the character of its early 
settlers. They were poor in nothing except money, and that 
fact in itself has given, I think, to our people a higher ideal 
of life than could have otherwise been possible; for while 
the Rumple farm was in a remote and sparsely settled neigh- 
borhood, the young man did not have far to go to find a 
little academy in a neighboring county well situated not only 
to give him the rudiments of an education, but, what is more 
important than mere knowledge, the inspiration and ambition 
which make the student and the thinker. 

I do not know what studies he pursued at Ashland Academy, 
but a year later we find him at one of the pioneer colleges of 
the State, preparing himself to become a school-teacher. 
After teaching school for two years he entered the normal 
department of the State University, studying one term and 
teaching another, until the summer of 1861, wlien he laid 
down his books and gave his name to an enlisting regiment 
of the Union Army. 

This is a short and not uncommon story; ne\-ertheless it 



54 Life and Cliaradcr of John N. JV. Rumple. 

will bear examination; and I confess that the more I think 
about it the more interesting it becomes. It is the story of 
a young man, without the help of friends or influential con- 
nections of any kind, fighting his own way step by step, with a 
firm grip upon his own resources, asking no odds in the strug- 
gle, and quitting it only because he counted his obligation to 
his country superior to any dut}- which he owed to himself. 

His colleagues in the House of Representatives who were 
also his comrades in the Union Arm}- have spoken of his mili- 
tary record. He entered the service as a private in Company 
H, Second Iowa Cavalr}-, and when the war was over he bore 
the modest rank of captain, having received his promotions one 
by one for gallantr}' in the field. I look upon Captain RuM- 
ple's four years' service in the Union Army as the noblest 
chapter in his biography. He had the opportunity that comes 
to the youth of the nation only once, it may be, in a century — 
the opportunity of helping defend the life of the Republic. To 
have been permitted to bear even an humble part in the 
national defense was in itself a title of distinction and a crown 
of glory. He was onh* one of more than a million men, nearly 
all of them enlisted from the humbler walks of life, yet ever}' 
one of them has a share in the victor}- of the nation, and 
every name of the Grand Army is a part of the histor\- of the 
world. 

The record of such a life is complete even if after the war 
was over he had fallen back to the lowly surroundings from 
which he came; nor could any possible subsequent achievement 
over-shadow these four immortal years. 

Not many months ago I stood with multiplied thousands of 
his countrymen by the grave of one whose career until the 
la.st twenty years of his life was almost an exact counterpart 
of the life of Captain Rumple— a country boy, a student at a 



Address of Mr. Dollivcr, of loioa. 55 

village acadeni}-, a district school-teacher, a Union soldier enter- 
ing as a private and coming out with the rank of major, a law- 
3-er at the county seat, a Representative in Congress — faithful 
in all the little things within his sphere of duty. He after- 
wards rose to supreme influence in the councils of his country, 
and when he died the sorrow of the world was mingled with 
the pomp and ceremony of his funeral. But when I saw the 
worn and feeble renniant of his old regiment drawn up as a 
guard of honor about his tomb I did not even look at the 
glittering pageantry with which the nation had surrounded 
the closing scene of that great life; for there is no station 
in the world so high, there is no coronation of fame so splendid, 
that it can make the uniform of the Grand Army of the 
Republic seem insignificant or out of place. 

Captain Rumple began the study of law after his regiment 
was mustered out, having only the advantages that come to a 
student in a prosperous law office at his own home. It is not 
certain, after all, that even the best-equipped law schools can 
do as much toward the education of a lawyer as can be done 
under favorable circumstances in an ofhce where practice of the 
law is a part of the course of study. 

However this may be, it is certain that Captain Rumple 
very rapidly developed into one of the profoundest lawyers 
and most sagacious advocates at the Iowa bar. His method 
of study was characterized not only by diligence, but by 
thoroughness, and when he was admitted to the bar he became 
the partner of his instructor and began a professional career 
marked by conspicuous distinction and success. 

As an advocate trying cases in the conununity where his 
lot had been cast from his youth up, he had the advantages 
which always belong to character and high standards of con- 
duct. The people trusted him, believed in him, sought his 



56 Life and Character of John N. W. Rumple. 

counsel, committed their interests to his hands, and during: 
the period of his active practice of the law his name was 
creditabl}' associated with much of the important litigation 
in his own and surrounding counties. 

While he was engrossed with the cares of an arduous pro- 
fession, he was never oblivious to the duties of citizenship. 
In politics he was an ardent Republican, giving generous 
attention to pul:)lic affairs, and never without active interest 
in the concerns of his party and in the business of the State. 

In 1873 he was chosen a senator, and served in the four- 
teenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth general assemblies of the State. 
He was a persuasive public speaker, and no campaign passed 
without his active participation in discussions before the 
people. He was faithful in his discharge of the everydav 
business of citizenship. The last time he was seen b}- his 
townsmen upon the street was at the recent election in Novem- 
ber, when, though his body was racked with pain, and he 
knew that his time was short, according to his lifelong custom, 
he went to the polls to cast his vote. 

During the years of his professional activit}-, while he sought 
no office, he was chosen for many important public services, 
mostly of a nonpartisan character, to which he gave patient 
and careful attention. He was a member of the board of 
regents of the State University, and curator of the State 
Historical vSociety, and from time to time, when his neighbors 
and fellow-citizens requested his servnces, he did not look 
tipon it as beneath his dignity- to become a member of the 
school board or the city council and mayor of the town in 
which he lived. 

While these offices of trust, without salary, did not distract 
his attention from his duties as a lawyer in active practice, 
they ser^'e to illustrate the manner of man he was, and explain 



Address of Mr. DoUivcr, of lo-a'u. 57 

ill a measure at least the strong hold which he acquired upon 
the community in which he had resided nearly all his life. 

He was elected to Congress in 1900 in a district notable in 
Iowa for its hard-fought political battles, and would have been 
renominated and reelected if the disease w^hich soon broke 
down his strong constitution had not already warned him that 
the time of his departure was at hand. 

In all the relations of life Captain Rumpi^e exemplified the 
law of Christian living. He was identified \vith the Presby- 
terian Church and gave to its work and ser\'ice a helpful spirit 
and a loyal devotion. There is no stain upon the life of this 
man. He died among the neighbors and friends of a lifetime, 
in the community to which his mother had l:)rought him as a 
boy with the pioneers of Iowa. 

The love and confidence of the people, which he enjoyed 
while he lived, were illustrated by the universal grifef which 
followed the news of his fatal sickness. With courageous 
heart he had met and conquered the difficulties and hardships 
of life; with patient fortitude he bore the afflictions of disease; 
death had no terrors for this old soldier; the future no shadows 
for this man of humble Christian faith. 



58 Life and Character of John N. IV. Rumple, 



Address of Mr. Burton, of Kansas. 

Mr. President: On the wall in n\y study there hangs a 
picture of a well-developed and happy infant, balanced on a 
sea shell, floating upon a smooth surface of water. Falling 
full on the figure fronj the sky is a flood of brilliant light, 
while in the distance from where the shell boat seems to have 
floated there is only impenetrable darkness; on the other side 
of the picture, toward which the little craft is floating, there is 
not one ray of light. I have often thought this picture a 
symbol of life. We come out of darkness into the light and 
after a brief time enter the shadow.s again. Humanit}- through 
all the ages has looked l^ackward and forward trying to pene- 
trate the sable curtain which separates us from the past and 
the future. "I want to know" trembles upon the lips of 
youth, manhood, and old age. Every one would know his 
origin and his destiny, but, alas, the longings of the soul can 
not be satisfied. From the realm of shadows no voice comes to 
us. No sublunary light reveals either the stage of our former 
or our future existence. Something there is within that makes 
us feel and know that we are immortal, but beyond that faith 
we can not go. It is this ignorance of the future that gives to 
death its greatest terror. The separation from loved ones is 
hard to bear, but not to know when and where we meet again 
is the appalling thought that comes to the stoutest heart in 
facing the king of terrors. But if we can not tell with cer- 
tainty what our lot will be in the future life we all believe— do 
we not know — that our condition there depends in a measure 
upon our acts here. As goodness is rewarded and wickedness 



Address of Mr. Burton, of Kansas. 59 

is punished here, so we are taught to beheve it is the same on 
the other side of the river. 

I never knew personally the deceased Hon. J. N. W. Rumple. 
I am told by those who did kno\\- him that he was a good man; 
that the talent given him had been used in every relation of 
life to the very best advantage; as a farmer's boy performing 
the hard labor in the field; as a youthful soldier bearing bravely 
and gallantly the burdens of the march and in battle, rising 
through gradations from the ranks to important command; and 
later as a citizen respected by all as a solid, sensible country 
lawyer, grounded in the principles and practices of his profes- 
sion, trusted by his clients; as a politician in the highest, purest, 
and best sense of the term he bore himself bravely and well. 
That is all that was required by the Master. When summoned 
for an accounting he was ready, and let us all hope and believe 
that he heard the cheering words as he landed on the other 
shore, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." 



6o Life and Character of John N. IV. Rumple. 



Address of Mr. Allison, of Iowa. 

Mr. Presidknt: In the death of John Nicholas William 
Rumple the State of Iowa lose.s a leading lawyer and a useful 
citizen, and the nation lose.s a careful, painstaking, and intelli- 
gent legislator. Captain Rujniple — well known throughout the 
State by this title — was a .splendid example of that type of self- 
made men who ri.se from humble surroundings, again.st adverse 
circumstances, to positions of great usefulness, honor, and 
responsibility. 

He was born, as my colleague has .stated, on a farm in Ohio 
on the 4th of March, 1841, and his early boyhood was spent in 
that State. At the age of 10 his father died, and two years 
later we find this sturdy boy, in company with a number of rel- 
atives, making the overland trip in a wagon from Ohio to Iowa 
with his mother and five other children. They .settled on a 
farm in Iowa County, one of the interior counties near the 
center of the State, which continued to be his home from 
that time until his death. The settled portions of the State 
then bordered on the Des Moines and Mississippi rivers and 
Iowa County was sparsely populated. There was no railway 
communication, the wagon roads were few and no markets 
within many miles, so that the products of the farm could 
only find a market at Muscatine or Davenport, then .small 
towns on the Mis.sissippi River nearly 100 miles distant. 

The community in which this family .settled was at that time 
practically without schools, but young Rumple, blessed with a 
noble mother, lost no opportunity to acquire the rudiments of 
an education in this humble home, having there instilled into 
his mind pure morality, the fear of God, and the teachings of 



Address of Mr. Allison, of loiva. 6i 

Christianit}'. In this sparsely settled region, with only scat- 
tered villages, and with these few opportunities, were molded 
that uprightness of character and loyalty to duty which became 
marked traits of his manhood, and which served to guide him 
through his eventful life. 

A few years later this portion of Iowa was rapidly settled 
by hardy and sturd>- men and women from the older .States, 
and fortunately for him, the farm upon which he was reared 
was in the midst of a congenial and intelligent population and 
in near proximity to the capital of the State, then at Iowa 
City, which became the seat of the new State University. 
At the age of i6 he attended a private academy in a neigh- 
boring county, and later became a student at a recently estab- 
lished collec;e in the adjacent county of Linn, and still later at 
the State University. To enable him thus to extend his educa- 
tion, he alternately taught school during the winter months 
and attended to his studies during the spring and fall terms. 

At the age of 20 he enlisted as a soldier in the Second Iowa 
Cavalry and served with this regiment during its long and 
perilous career, covering , the entire period of the civil war. 
This regiment was constantly engaged at the front and was in 
many sharp conflicts and battles in the South and West, from 
New Madrid and the siege of Corinth to the battle of Nashville. 
All his comrades testify that Captain Rumple during this long 
period was a brave and fearless and ideal soldier, always at the 
post of dvity. 

After four years of this difficult and arduous military service, 
he was mustered out as a captain at the age of 24 years. He 
returned to his home and at once entered upon the study of law 
at Marengo, and two years later was admitted to the bar. 
From that time until his election to Congress he was in the 
active and successful practice of his profession. His steadiness 



62 Life and Character of John N. W. Rumple, 

of purpose, his devotion to ever}- duty assigned to him, and his 
spotless integrity soon won for him the confidence, esteem, and 
affection of all those with whom he came in contact, and he 
advanced rapidly in the profession. 

He took an active part and a deep interest in the public 
affairs of his county and vState and contributed largely to the 
growth and development of the State, holding many positions 
of honor and trust, and he was especially devoted to its educa- 
tional interests. He was for many years prominent in both 
houses of the general assembh- of Iowa. In the early seventies 
he was elected to the State senate and served there with dis- 
tinction, acquiring a wide reputation as an able and useful 
legislator. He became curator of the State Historical Society, 
and for a long time was one of the board of regents of the 
State University. Thus he early became a valued and valu- 
able counselor as respects all the great affairs of the youthful 
and rapidly growing State of his adoption. 

Nearly twenty years ago he was put fonvard as a candidate 
of the Republican party for Congress in what was then the 
Fifth district of Iowa, and lacked only one vote of being nomi- 
nated in a district then largely Republican. Soon after, hy a 
new apportionment, his county was included in the Second dis- 
trict, and he was not again a candidate until 1900, when the 
Republican convention of that district unanimoush" named him 
as its candidate for Congress. Though for some years it had 
been carried by the Republicans, it was regarded as the closest 
di.strict politically in Iowa, being considered in doubt during 
the canvass which followed his nomination. But after a con- 
test of great activity, when the votes were cast and counted, 
it was found that he had a good majority. 

It is pathetic to record that before he had taken his seat in 
Congress he was seized .vath a fatal malady, and death had cast 



Address of Mr. Allison, of Iowa. 63 

its ominous shadow across his pathwa}'. Owing to this malady 
he was able to serve in the House of Representatives owXy dur- 
ing the first session of this Congress, not being well enough to 
appear in his seat at the commencement of the present session. 
During this period of his service, though brief, he demonstrated 
his ability, notwithstanding his physical infirmity, to achieve 
success for his district and for the people of Iowa in the large 
field of national legislation. He gave close attention to the 
details of the tasks assigned to him, and made many friends in 
the House, as it was early seen that he possessed the qualities 
of a successful legislator, being always safe and conser\-ative, a 
man of good judgment, and having a wide knowledge of public 
affairs. 

Patient, persevering, and diligent, he found no pleasure so 
great as the pleasure of servnng his friends and doing good 
wherever and whenever he had an opportunity. He was an 
honest and honorable man in the highest and truest sense. In 
his personal relations he was kind and true-hearted, steadfast 
and loyal to every duty, true to friends, and harbored no resent- 
ments against those who, for any reason, differed from him. 

He was especially fond of the comrades with whom he served 
during the civil war, and greatly enjoyed the annual regimental 
and brigade reunions, and he was known personally to the 
surviving soldiers with whom he had serv'ed. All these will 
deeply deplore his separation from them by his untimely death. 
The affection and esteem in which he was held by them was 
also shared by the great body of the people of Iowa, who knew 
him well and who likewise deplore his death. 

It was my fortune to know him well for more than thirty 
years, and during all this period, without interruption, he was 
my personal friend. He was in the Iowa senate when I was 
first elected to this body. Early in our acquaintance I became 



JW^" 



64 Life and Character of John N. IV. Rumple. 

strongh- attached to him because of his manly traits, his fidelity 
to friends, and his generous treatment of those who were per- 
sonally or politically opposed to him. This attachment and 
friendship continued until his death, and I much regretted that 
vcvy duties here prevented me from following him to his last 
resting place, that I might thus give token of my friendship 
and affection for him during his life. His death is to me a 
personal grief and loss. 

Mr. President, I ask for the adoption of the resolutions pre- 
sented by my colleague, with the exception of the one relating 
to adjournment. 

The resolutions were unanimouslj^ agreed to. 

o 



LB My '04 



